7 ms·

The picture you link to is of a pair of Truform Runner treadmills[1]. I have no idea of how safe they are, but they are notable for not having motors which mean

by todd8 5y ago

The picture you link to is of a pair of Truform Runner treadmills[1]. I have no idea of how safe they are, but they are notable for not having motors which means that they wouldn’t pull a child under them on their own. Could they injure a child? I don’t know. Perhaps someone that has used one and can comment on it. I’ve been thinking of replacing my current treadmill with one of these. I don’t have small children or pets, but I’d like to get a safe treadmill if I’m going to buy new one. [1] https://trueformrunner.com https://trueformrunner.com

BoorishBears 5y ago
https://www.fitnesssuperstore.com/Woodway-Desmo-Evo-Treadmill-p/ww-des-evo.htm?gclid=CjwKCAjwjuqDBhAGEiwAdX2cjyADMcAftJJUCbjoJ00LXGfh7W7PsuVdZDq0ET16p-mFfw2GyExptxoCmW8QAvD_BwE https://www.fitnesssuperstore.com/Woodway-Desmo-Evo-Treadmil... There are many models of slatted treadmills and in my shopping I haven't seen one with a guard It could be a coincidence, a lot of treadmills period don't have guards, but really I think the answer here is maybe making sure kids can't activate it I was expecting the child standing on it to be the one hurt since at full tilt those could easily catapult a child with deadly force..
- buran77 5y ago
  > the answer here is maybe making sure kids can't activate it That doesn't help if a kid or pet are caught in there while the adult is on the treadmill, especially at higher speeds or when reaction time is slowed due to wearing headphones. The answer is to install protection. Having slats instead of the classic band doesn't make it impossible to protect that pinch point, rather just makes the machine bulkier (longer) and less aesthetically pleasing. There are plenty of mechanisms and sensors that can detect something being caught in there and immediately stop operation but they cost more. See the video above, with the small child being slowly pulled under the treadmill. The machine not being able to detect *it lifted off the ground repeatedly while operating" in order to come to a full stop immediately is the kind of thing that happens when half-assed engineers meet half-assed managers, thinking they can make a "full-assed" product.
  - BoorishBears 5y ago
    Yeah, no... there is no "one answer" unless you want to say "don't be a negligent parent and let your kids near running power equipment" Why are you acting like this is a binary choice instead of a case where multiple mitigations can try and help make a bad situation slightly less worse? There are multiple stories of children dying on treadmills without ever leaving the top surface of them. Mike Tyson's daughter died after getting caught in a rope hanging near the machine. - At the end of the day with you on it or not, if your kids are near the running machine, it's already a dangerous situation and the most important mitigation called "parental supervision" has failed. No other mitigation will change that. I wonder how long until I get the requisite "have you seen how easily kids escape supervision!" I sure have, and that's why having a system only an adult can activate goes a long way. I'm a fully grown man with one and I'm certain if I were to put just a single foot on it at full tilt I'd violently injure myself. I can't even imagine what it'd do to a child. A guard wouldn't change that
    - buran77 5y ago
      Who said anything about this being a binary choice or about negligent parents? I mentioned the adult on the treadmill to highlight that the answer is not "making sure kids can't activate it". The device is expected to be used with unsupervised children or pets around it so a simple child lock is not nearly enough. The back of the treadmill is always unsupervised during use so you either make it safe, or you clearly instruct the owners to only operate them in strict isolation from children or pets. > that's why having a system only an adult can activate goes a long way. And I'll just say it again so it's very clear: it doesn't go nearly far enough. But I want to see a guard behind and under the treadmill so it can't grip and drag anything under it. I want to see sensors that detect when something was grabbed by the belt past a certain point, detect the (sudden) change in drag, detect the inclination of the treadmill, detect and only operate when someone is on the treadmill so that putting "just a single foot on it at full tilt" is simply not possible. When the failsafe is triggered it should cause an immediate but relatively gentle stop and maybe even slowly reverse the direction of the belt for a short time to release whatever was caught. My cheapo gardening tools make sure they only operate when both my hands are tightly gripping the handles, they detect when something is wrapped around the spinning parts and stop to prevent damage, some even detect if you hold them at the wrong angle and cut power. The are plenty of engineering solutions to to cover 99.9% of accidental and maybe even intentional misuses. But they cost $10 more and don't look that nice. So killing or injuring a child as a cost of doing business is preferred.

by todd8 5y ago

BoorishBears 5y ago

https://www.fitnesssuperstore.com/Woodway-Desmo-Evo-Treadmill-p/ww-des-evo.htm?gclid=CjwKCAjwjuqDBhAGEiwAdX2cjyADMcAftJJUCbjoJ00LXGfh7W7PsuVdZDq0ET16p-mFfw2GyExptxoCmW8QAvD_BwE https://www.fitnesssuperstore.com/Woodway-Desmo-Evo-Treadmil... There are many models of slatted treadmills and in my shopping I haven't seen one with a guard It could be a coincidence, a lot of treadmills period don't have guards, but really I think the answer here is maybe making sure kids can't activate it I was expecting the child standing on it to be the one hurt since at full tilt those could easily catapult a child with deadly force..

buran77 5y ago
> the answer here is maybe making sure kids can't activate it That doesn't help if a kid or pet are caught in there while the adult is on the treadmill, especially at higher speeds or when reaction time is slowed due to wearing headphones. The answer is to install protection. Having slats instead of the classic band doesn't make it impossible to protect that pinch point, rather just makes the machine bulkier (longer) and less aesthetically pleasing. There are plenty of mechanisms and sensors that can detect something being caught in there and immediately stop operation but they cost more. See the video above, with the small child being slowly pulled under the treadmill. The machine not being able to detect *it lifted off the ground repeatedly while operating" in order to come to a full stop immediately is the kind of thing that happens when half-assed engineers meet half-assed managers, thinking they can make a "full-assed" product.
- BoorishBears 5y ago
  Yeah, no... there is no "one answer" unless you want to say "don't be a negligent parent and let your kids near running power equipment" Why are you acting like this is a binary choice instead of a case where multiple mitigations can try and help make a bad situation slightly less worse? There are multiple stories of children dying on treadmills without ever leaving the top surface of them. Mike Tyson's daughter died after getting caught in a rope hanging near the machine. - At the end of the day with you on it or not, if your kids are near the running machine, it's already a dangerous situation and the most important mitigation called "parental supervision" has failed. No other mitigation will change that. I wonder how long until I get the requisite "have you seen how easily kids escape supervision!" I sure have, and that's why having a system only an adult can activate goes a long way. I'm a fully grown man with one and I'm certain if I were to put just a single foot on it at full tilt I'd violently injure myself. I can't even imagine what it'd do to a child. A guard wouldn't change that
  - buran77 5y ago
    Who said anything about this being a binary choice or about negligent parents? I mentioned the adult on the treadmill to highlight that the answer is not "making sure kids can't activate it". The device is expected to be used with unsupervised children or pets around it so a simple child lock is not nearly enough. The back of the treadmill is always unsupervised during use so you either make it safe, or you clearly instruct the owners to only operate them in strict isolation from children or pets. > that's why having a system only an adult can activate goes a long way. And I'll just say it again so it's very clear: it doesn't go nearly far enough. But I want to see a guard behind and under the treadmill so it can't grip and drag anything under it. I want to see sensors that detect when something was grabbed by the belt past a certain point, detect the (sudden) change in drag, detect the inclination of the treadmill, detect and only operate when someone is on the treadmill so that putting "just a single foot on it at full tilt" is simply not possible. When the failsafe is triggered it should cause an immediate but relatively gentle stop and maybe even slowly reverse the direction of the belt for a short time to release whatever was caught. My cheapo gardening tools make sure they only operate when both my hands are tightly gripping the handles, they detect when something is wrapped around the spinning parts and stop to prevent damage, some even detect if you hold them at the wrong angle and cut power. The are plenty of engineering solutions to to cover 99.9% of accidental and maybe even intentional misuses. But they cost $10 more and don't look that nice. So killing or injuring a child as a cost of doing business is preferred.